However, if you want to err on the side of caution, this blog has suggested five possible alternatives: donut, percentage bar, tree map, waffle, or simply adding labels to a bar chart.
- How is a pie chart better than a table?
- Why are pie charts not recommended?
- When should we use a table instead of a chart?
How is a pie chart better than a table?
Charts are great for summarized data. They show shapes and patterns that supply insights quickly and efficiently. Tables give the raw data and leave it up to the reader to work out what it shows.
Why are pie charts not recommended?
Pies and doughnuts fail because: Quantity is represented by slices; humans aren't particularly good at estimating quantity from angles, which is the skill needed. Matching the labels and the slices can be hard work. Small percentages (which might be important) are tricky to show.
When should we use a table instead of a chart?
Tables are used when you want individual values to be compared to one another. Charts can be used when you do not necessarily have to compare one value to each but to represent relationships out of sets of available values.